As with majority of post, often move in different directions. To the OP, dive what you like. If splits work well for you then no sense in changing. As a disclaimer, I dive Atomic Splits.
These types of discussions tends to remind me of a scene from the movie Sideways. Paul Giamatti and Sandra Oh are discussing cabernet franc and how both don't really like the characteristics of the wine for whatever reason. Thomas Hayden Church takes a sip and exclaims, "Tastes pretty good to me!"
For those of us recreational vacation divers, splits are just fine. I don't dive caves, doubles, or anything remotely resembling tech diving or equipment. I dive rented AL 80's for all of my dives. For me, double tanks means I used one tank on two separate dives. I like to swim slow and check out the reef. My standard dive buddy is my daughter. We are slow swimmers by choice.
Please show some kindness for us routine vacation style divers. Poking fun at flailing unflattering kick styles is in my mind a little mean spirited. The poor guy in YouTube likely has not spent too much time under water, heck he probably can barely swim. Splits are designed expecially with these type of divers in mind. We poor souls who are not highly accomplished and highly skilled divers.
Dan, if I ever make it to Florida and have time I will be sure to let you know and try the freestyle fins. I may even pick up a pair of paddles at some time in the future. For now, I see no reason to change my splits.
Willie,
I am not in this thread to hurt feelings of new divers with split fins....Almost the opposite motivation.... I am out on dive charter boats off of Palm Beach nearly every week. I get to see the new divers, the enthusiasm, the committment to gettig this sport "down", and the pure fun they are having....I also see the problems they are having -- problems that hinder their potential for maximum fun......One of the BIGGEST HINDRANCES they all face, is that they have such a hard time moving at "the speed they want to move at" through the water.....So they "thrash harder", and they get closer to the speed they feel they need to stay in the DM led group they are in....As they overcompensate with this thrashing, they forget trim and bouyancy, and single mindedly attempt to keep up with more thrashing.....
The splits respond to the "thrashing". It's a benefit, and a curse. To many, it's a benefit because the new diver, or once every few months diver, can propel themselves down the reef with no need for learning how to kick.....Said another way....they don't, or the instructor does not, have to take the time for learning optimal kicking techniques....
Take 100 instructors, there maybe 50 great ones, 25 ok ones, and 25 that stink. At least 50 of this one hundred is not likely to assist in optimizing the kick techniques--whether they don't want to spend the time( they profit more by teaching less in their minds) , or they just don't know the optimal kicking technique themselves--or they don't really know how to quickly figure out the kicking mistakes of a new diver, and get them to do it the right way....And this is MAJOR... It could be the most complicated and time consuming part of all the skills a new diver is taught. If I wanted to work with a new diver with no kicking skills, I would probably spend 2 hours on techniques, and film them so they have the feedback on watching, then the next day, another 2 hours, and film them, show the improvement, and then get them out in a variety of reef and wreck conditions, and film them using their new techniques, show this later, and then have one final teaching class on the techniques they need to tweak for each environment, or "situational need". ...... This would produce a new diver that kicked correctly, whether with splits, Force Fins, Rockets, or freedive fins....They would in my opinion, gravitate to either the Force Fins if they are wired for the easy propulsion without hip stress unique to Force and splits....or the ease in reverse kicking, etc......or they would gravitate to jet fins if they had plans for tech or cave and scooters --liked frog kick the most, and were very fit......or to Freedive fins if thyey just liked the big amplitude slow kicks without effort, and liked the hip and knew style flutter or dolphing kicks of the freedive fins, and the feel of frog kicks with huge glide between....They would not like the splits, because once you really know how to make a fin do everything, the Splits just are too lacking precision.....The splits took no knowledge or training to begin with, but progress is very limited...
More like a Skier that is given very forgiving beginner skiis, and showed the snow plow....it is easy for anyone, and almost anyone can get good in snow plow in a day or two....however, between the limitation of the snowplow technique ( is horrible in much of the advanced terrain) , and the limitations of the beginner skiis, which you can make many edging mistakes with and still not catch an edge and fall---but these skiis just dont repond "the right way" when you do the right technique--they "kind of respond", and the beginner does not fall so much in the first few hours.....mistakes don't get transmitted as badly to the skiis. They don't get really good, because what they do right does not transmit well either.
I argue for putting the newbie in near racing quality skiis and boots ( not real racing skiis, but good performance skiis), and showing them cristies in to the hill in the first minutes of instruction, and linked cristies, and gettig them to do real skiing --it takes more instruction time, it means more mistakes will be made in the first hour or so by the newbie, but they will actually begin to LEARN. Diving and kicking technique is far more similar than the industry wants to acknowledge.
When I showed the video of poor guy thrashing away with the splits, it was not to hurt him( or those who resemble him), it was to explain that things like this should not happen, that there is a much better way to end up enjoying many diving environments much more ( and dramatically increasing your own safety by becoming a powerful fin swimmer).
This is one reason I offer to let split fin wearers on SB visit here on Palm Beach, and why I will let them try freedive fins, or perhaps even Force Fins if Bob Evans wants to leave a pair or two at Pura Vida, and I will show them the kick shapes and techniques, and let them try this at the BHB Marine Park...no cost to anybody
